Coraline
by foggraven
Summary: Spunky and inquisitive with a knack for exploration and ferreting out old forgotten places Coraline Jones the transfer from America is an odd sort.
1. Chapter 1 - Coraline Jones

Title: Coraline

An: Grande sœur and große schwester mean big sister in French and German respectively. Frère is brother in French.

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Coraline Jones the transfer from America.

She's an odd sort.

Appearance wise she's nice looking but seemingly ordinary enough with pale skin and a rather cute smattering of freckles.

But she's anything but ordinary.

She has the oddest blue hair, _blue hair!_

Spunky and inquisitive with a knack for exploration and ferreting out old forgotten places and secrets she knows the castle better than anyone even after only being there for a few weeks.

She stands out amongst the Hogwarts students and there isn't one of them who hasn't heard of or know about her.

The American girl's a favourite with the teachers and the ghosts like her. Why no one's sure, the ghosts are anyone's guests but the teachers like of her likely stems from her talent in their subject and the curiosity and joy she exhibits when immersing herself in the unseen eddies of magic as she works. Amazingly even Snape seems to approve of her and she's the only one he's ever failed to cow into submission with his ominous bat like presence and bitting commentary.

She's well behaved and doesn't cause trouble in his class which helps; her knack for potions helps more. The class nearly has a heart attack when he actually gives her points the first case anyone can remember for a non Slytherin.

When she's not wearing her school robes she likes to wear a deep blue sweater with stars on it, and whenever it's raining she dons her bright yellow gumboots and raincoat.

She has a familiar, _familiar_ not pet. It's a big black cat, skeletal with big luminous blue eyes.

Her ever present companion is no ordinary cat just as she is no ordinary girl.

Ridiculously intelligent he resembles the Cheshire cat of legends in his ability to vanish and reappear at will. Coraline once explained it as walking the spaces in between.

No one's seen him open his mouth but they all swear they've heard him talk when no one is looking.

Odd instances like this are not uncommon. Sometimes people swear when they glance at the girl's reflection in a mirror or a window as she passes by her reflection has buttons in place of eyes.

Visitors to the castle are rare but Coraline is given special dispensation by Dumbledore and is visited by her'sœurs' and 'frères'.

She's grande sœur and große schwester to a many dead children. The sight of their tiny bodies brings a great sadness to those who chance upon them when they visit her. She dances and plays with them and they call to her in many languages while laughing and smiling. Their ghostly songs surround her in the voices of dead children singing for her.

The button eyed reflection, the there and not again cat, her connection with the ghosts. These odd phenomena that surround her sets her apart but she remains unbothered by it. Where others might shun the strangeness that she surrounds her she embraces it.

A kind girl who keeps unusual company and has a knack for exploration Coraline Jones is someone who invites curiosity.

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An: I would to write a longer fanfic for this, maybe when some of my longer stories have finished I can give it more attention. For now it's a oneshot until I write more for it. Don't expect coming additions to be frequent or regular or anytime too soon. I might make this a short series of three or so similar sort of chapters and then write a larger story for it separately.


	2. Chapter 2 - Her Mother's Daughter

An: '_ma petite, ma fille' – my child, my daughter.'_

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Professor Lupin's first defence class has been eagerly awaited.

Eagerness soon gives way to trepidation.

Facing your fears is not something most people enjoy.

Most of the class have simple childish fears; child hood monsters and angry parents.

But some Monsters are all too real and some parents are worth fearing.

The closet rattles and rocks and everyone takes a step back, murmuring and sharing disquieted looks. They're curious but unsure.

Coraline wondered if Lupin was truly aware just how terrifying and crippling fears could be. Some people fear very real things. Very real, very frightening things.

When it is her turn she steps forward and her classmate's eerily smiling Venetian masked figure turns its head mechanically to look at her.

It stares at her for a long minute before slowly it leans back its head and long hands emerge and pry its mouth apart from the inside.

Something very wrong is happening here.

Slowly, horrifically a woman emerges.

She resembles an older looking Coraline. Beautiful and sweet looking her appearance a convincing mask for the wickedness within.

But her eyes, oh her eyes. They are buttons, large and black with four little holes with which equally black thread is sewn through.

"_Mother_."

"Shh dear, it'll be ok." The woman wore such a look of tenderness as she addressed the girl who she so resembled.

"No, you're dead," Coraline croaked out. "I saw you die."

"Did you ever think I would leave you?"

"Even in death I am a part of you as you are a part of me." She smiled gently and caressed Coraline's cheek with a hand as she addressed her.

"Oh darling daughter you are me as I am you, like mother like daughter."

With a sigh she brushed a lock of hair from her face. "This body is almost gone, It can't hold me for much longer. It will expire soon and me along with it."

Even as she spoke slowly she began to break apart into ashen flakes. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until she had almost been consumed.

"grow healthy and strong _ma petite, ma fille_."

"That is all I can wish for you."

With agonizing slowness the last of her form dissipated and the boggart lets out a soft sigh before dispersing into nothingness.

Nobody said anything as Coraline lay crumpled on her knees staring hollowly at the place where her mother had stood.

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An: A mother loves her daughter no matter what. Consider this an Au, Bedlam is Coraline's mother, other or otherwise in more than one sense.


	3. Chapter 3 - Wand of Web and Blood

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Albus Dumbledore paced back and forth.

After the events of professor Lupin's rather eventful lesson the American transfer student had collapsed.

He'd been intrigued and disturbed upon hearing of the odd events that had transpired during the lesson.

From what he had gathered and Lupin's own memory of the event, something most unusual had occurred.

He'd been most curious about the transfer student from the moment Ollivander had contacted him after she had visited him to have her wand checked before school started.

Few witches her age had a familiar, nor one as peculiar as her own at that. But it wasn't the cat Ollivander had contacted him about, though he had brought it up briefly. No, no it was her wand that was so intriguing.

Exotic wands were by no means uncommon, he himself had once had one made from swish cheese and goat's hair – not Humphrey Belcher's greatest invention; the thing had promptly exploded when he had tried to use it, leaving him covered in bits of cheese and smelling of goats for the better part of a week.

Ollivander who she had been instructed to visit to verify that her wand was in working order had found that hers had been a great deal better constructed than Dumbledore's own disastrous foray into strange wands, using while unconventional, components more traditionally in line with what would normally be considered viable wand making material.

The wand maker upon examining her wand had been shocked to find it made of Elder and the webbing of a cousin of the Acromantula suspended in what seemed to be blood.

A most rare and ill advised combination Ollivander had never thought to see, yet the combination was a perfect match for her, and wasn't that... curious.

Unusually long, thirteen and a half inches– and wand length had always been traditionally thought indicative of and individuals power amongst - in the case of males, other _things. _

Elder the rarest wand wood of all, reputed to be deeply unlucky elder wands were trickier to master than any other. It was surprising then to see it in the wand of a young girl.

Highly unusual, but not unheard of, but spider webbing, blood?  
Such a thing had not been recorded anywhere in history.

Elder was tricky, it contained powerful magic, but it took a remarkable witch to keep an elder wand for any length of time.

In truth only a highly unusual person would find their perfect match in elder.

Spider's web on the other hand would require a personal affinity that went beyond the norm, and blood? Well the less said about blood the better.

Such a combination Ollivander shivered to think of it, never in all his years would had he so much as attempted such a thing. Yet there it sat, perfect and unearthly.

He had contacted Dumbledore at once.

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The headmaster was brought out of his musings as the girl on the bed began to stir.

"Ah Miss Jones you're awake."

Coraline awoke to find herself in the Hospital Wing. Blearily she turned to face the headmaster; she must have fainted after the stress of the day's events.

The Headmaster droned on for a while before getting to the point. I was clear he wanted to question her about what had happened. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions about what occurred during professor Lupin's class, I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on what happened?"

She nodded lackadaisically; she still hadn't quite recovered from her impromptu sleep.

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Dumbledore paused for a long moment before nodding his head and speaking. "I was wondering if you might be able to tell me about the women who emerged from the boggart."

Coraline was quiet for a long time before she answered. "She was my mother."

"Your mother?" He couldn't help but wish she would elaborate.

When no more was forthcoming memories of his own family, of his own mother and of poor Ariana stopped him for questioning her further on the subject, he knew just how painful some memories were.

"I don't suppose you know how it was that she was able to appear in such a manner?"

Unbidden his mind turned to his research of the dark arts during his youth and then to another young boy who had once owned a wand made of elder.

"Even dead gods can dream."

"My mother was powerful, and old."

"I don't know how she did it."

A strange answer, 'even dead gods can dream'?

She was proving reticent, though he supposed it was to be expected.

He let out a sigh, how had Coraline Jones's mother – who had been by the girls own reckoning assuredly dead, managed to appear even if only for a short while, sprouting forth from inside a boggart, tearing it's mouth apart to clamber out. She had been no mere apparition, no ghost or imitation formed by the boggart.

No, it had been a true resurrection, even if only for a moment to impart final words upon her daughter.

All of his knowledge said such a thing was not possible. Every bit of research that had ever been performed had been met with failure and there were no recorded instances of anything to the contrary.

The girl returned to sleep as his mind turned to thoughts of dreaming gods and wands of elder and spider web.

He would have to keep an eye on her.

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An: Cheers to anyone who picked out the mass effect reference.


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